Corporate Tax return due 30 September 2026: what to file and what it costs to be late
Companies with a 31 December 2025 year end must file their UAE Corporate Tax return and pay any tax by 30 September 2026. Here is the checklist and the penalties.
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- When is the UAE Corporate Tax return due for a 31 December 2025 year end?
- By 30 September 2026. The return must be filed and any tax paid on EmaraTax within nine months of the end of the tax period.
- Do loss-making or nil companies have to file a Corporate Tax return?
- Yes. Every taxable person — mainland companies, free zone companies, branches and most partnerships — files a return for each tax period, whether the result is a profit, a loss or nil. There is no revenue threshold.
- What is the penalty for filing the Corporate Tax return late?
- AED 500 for each month or part of a month for the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 a month. Late payment adds 14% a year on the unpaid tax, charged monthly. The monthly penalty applies even to a nil return filed late.
The UAE Corporate Tax return is due nine months after the end of the tax period. For the most common year end, 31 December 2025, that makes 30 September 2026 the last day to file the return on EmaraTax and to pay any Corporate Tax due.
Who has to file
Every taxable person — mainland companies, free zone companies, branches and most partnerships — files a return for each tax period, whether the result is a profit, a loss or nil. There is no revenue threshold below which a return is not required. Companies that have applied Small Business Relief still submit a return, in simplified form.
How we help: Corporate Tax returns — the annual return prepared and filed on time.
What the return needs
- Financial statements for the period, prepared under accepted accounting standards (IFRS, or IFRS for SMEs where revenue is below AED 50 million).
- The tax computation: accounting profit adjusted for non-deductible items (fines, 50% of entertainment, donations to non-qualifying bodies), exempt income, interest limitation and any loss relief.
- Related-party and connected-person disclosures, with the transfer-pricing disclosure form where thresholds are met.
- For free zone persons claiming the 0% rate: the qualifying income analysis and audited financial statements.
Penalties for missing the date
| Late filing | AED 500 for each month (or part of a month) for the first 12 months, then AED 1,000 a month |
| Late payment | 14% per annum on the unpaid tax, charged monthly |
| Incorrect return | AED 500 if corrected before the deadline; higher fixed penalties and a percentage-based penalty if the FTA finds it later |
Penalties are charged even where no tax is payable — a nil return filed late still attracts the monthly AED 500.
If your books are not ready
The return is built from the accounts, so companies whose bookkeeping is behind need a catch-up first. With a week's turnaround for a small company's books and two to three days for the computation, there is still time — but only just. Our Corporate Tax packages include the computation and filing, and the deadline offer (CT return filing from AED 199*) runs until 30 September.
* Our fixed fees apply to businesses with annual revenue up to AED 3 million; above that, we prepare a custom quote. They do not apply to businesses dealing in digital currencies (crypto or other virtual assets), which are quoted separately.